Data interpretation and limitations

When interpreting the data in this report readers should be aware of the following:

The data has been supplied by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations in audited financial statements and general reports lodged with the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (the Registrar). It is current up to 16 May 2015. The accuracy of the data relies on the quality of the information lodged.

The geographic location of a given corporation is determined by the address of its registered office. It is important to note that a corporation may be registered in one state or territory, yet provide services to a client base spread across more than one state or territory.

While many corporations operate in more than one sector, income in this report relates to the overall activities of the corporations and cannot be broken down by sector.

At the time of analysis, a very small number of corporations had not provided their financial information for one or more financial years in the period covered by this report. For the 2013–14 financial year, 97.3 per cent of all corporations were compliant with their reporting obligations under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (CATSI Act) as at 30 June 2015. To a limited extent, gaps in the data have affected the aggregate figures presented in this report, such as growth in income and assets.

The term ‘departures’ applies to corporations that were ranked in the top 500 for 2012–13 but not for 2013–14.

All references to the previous financial year data are sourced from The top 500 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations 2012–13.

The CATSI Act

The CATSI Act establishes the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations and allows Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups to form corporations. The CATSI Act delivers modern corporate governance standards—it emphasises the importance of compliance and reporting as a mechanism to improve transparency and accountability. The CATSI Act provides a legislative mechanism to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people build strong corporations, strong people and strong communities.

Corporations registered under the CATSI Act must be owned and controlled by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: the majority of directors and members must be Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people (sections 29-5 and 246-5).

The Registrar is an independent statutory office holder appointed by the minister responsible for Indigenous affairs. The role of the Registrar is to administer the CATSI Act. The Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC) supports the Registrar to regulate and deliver services to corporations registered under the CATSI Act.

Key findings

The combined income of the top 500 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations for 2013–14 was $1.74 billion (compared to $1.71 billion in 2012–13, an increase of 1.9 per cent—behind nominal growth in GDP of 2.5 per cent in 2013–14[1]).

The combined income of corporations located in the Northern Territory and Western Australia was $1.26 billion or 72.3 per cent of the overall national income for 2013–14.

The average annual growth rate of corporation income over the last decade was 9.5 per cent.

In comparison to 2012–13 the average income of the top 500 corporations in 2013–14 increased from $3.42 million to $3.48 million.

11,721 people were employed by the top 500 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations. This represents a decrease of 479 employees (3.9 per cent) from the previous financial year.

The combined value of assets held by the top 500 corporations was $2.1 billion (compared to $1.98 billion in 2012–13, an increase of 6 per cent).

The Northern Territory had the highest total income ($754 million) of all the states and territories, with an average of $4.7 million per corporation. It has maintained this lead since 2004–05.

Since 2007–08 corporations in the Pilbara region have significantly increased their income compared to the national average.

The representation of women on boards of directors decreased slightly to 53.5 per cent (a decrease of 0.9 per cent from 2012–13).

Of the top 500 corporations 284 operated in one sector only (56.8 per cent).

As in 2012–13, the health and community services sector was the largest with 207 of the top 500 corporations operating in this sector (41.4 per cent).

201 corporations improved their rankings in the top 500 from last year and 226 decreased their ranking.

There were 56 new entries in the top 500 for 2013–14.

In 2013–14 the greatest source of revenue for the top 20 corporations came from self-generated income (44.8 per cent of total income). Government funding made up 39.5 per cent of the total income. There was a noticeable drop in other income sources which comprises mining royalties, native title compensation and distributions from trusts.

As at 30 June 2014 there were 135 registered native title bodies corporate (RNTBCs), also known as prescribed bodies corporate (PBCs).

The average income of RNTBCs that recorded an income greater than zero (51.1 per cent of RNTBCs) was $835,564. The remaining 48.9 per cent of RNTBCs had nil or almost nil income (53 RNTBCs reported nil income and 13 were exempted from reporting for the year).

Only 21 RNTBCs (15.6 per cent of all RNTBCs) appeared in the top 500.

[1] Australian Bureau of Statistics, cat. no. 5204.0 Australian system of National Accounts, 2013–14, table 1. Report released 31 October 2014 and available at http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/allprimarymainfeatures/07FD466DB5B89438CA257EED00153A34?opendocument.

Reporting compliance

Under the CATSI Act all corporations are required to submit one or more reports with the Registrar depending on the size of the corporation (small, medium or large) and income.

Since 2001–02 the percentage of corporations that have complied with their reporting requirements has increased significantly from 24 per cent to over 95 per cent (figure 1). Corporations have sustained this high rate of compliance for the past six years.

Findings

Geographic spread of the top 500 corporations

As shown in figure 2, the Northern Territory had the most corporations in the top 500 in 2013–14 (162 corporations, making up 32.4 per cent of the total 500).

The other three geographic jurisdictions with a large number of corporations in the top 500 were Western Australia (118), Queensland (103) and New South Wales (72). This order of ranking has remained unchanged from 2012–13.

The number of registered corporations in the top 500 changed for all states/territories from the previous financial year except for the Australian Capital Territory (two corporations) (figure 3).

Figure 2: Geographic spread of the top 500 corporations, 2013–14

Figure 3: Changes in the number of the top 500 registered corporations from 2012–13 to 2013–14 per state and territory

Overall income

In this report ‘income’ refers to total income as reported in corporations’ audited financial statements or general reports. This may include self-generated income, government grants, philanthropic gifts and other income sources.

In 2013–14 the combined income of the top 500 corporations was $1.74 billion, a small increase from $1.71 billion in 2012–13 (nominal increase was 1.9 per cent).

In 2013–14 the overall income generated by the top 500 corporations continued an upward trend but the incline has started to flatten.

Over the past decade, the overall income generated by the top 500 corporations has more than doubled—increasing from $767 million in 2004–05 to $1.74 billion in 2013–14 (figure 4). Over the same time the average growth rate was 9.5 per cent per annum.

The average income across the top 500 corporations in 2013–14 was $3.48 million, slightly up from $3.42 million in 2012–13.

Figure 4: Changes in overall income of the top 500 corporations, 2004–05 to 2013–14

Geographic share of the overall income

Figure 5 shows in 2013–14 the Northern Territory and Western Australia accounted for 72.3 per cent of the overall income of the top 500 corporations (figure 5), a decrease of 0.3 per cent from 2012–13 (72.6 per cent).

The percentage share of income was steady against 2012–13, with all states/territories changing their percentage share by less than 1 per cent. Queensland experienced the greatest increase in the share of the overall income (0.6 per cent) and New South Wales the greatest decrease (0.7 per cent).

Figure 5: Geographic share of overall income generated by the top 500 corporations

Variances in income

There was a significant difference between the income and assets of the corporation ranked number 1 and the corporation ranked number 500 (table 2). The top ranked corporation generated $66,089,202 during 2013–14, which is 226 times more than the $291,866 earned by the corporation ranked at number 500.

Table 2: Income and assets of top 500 corporations ranked highest and lowest

Ranking of corporation

Income

Assets

Number 1

$66,089,202

$39,060,272

Number 500

$291,886

$1,600,811

A total of 201 of the 500 corporations improved their ranking since 2012–13 and 225 decreased their ranking. There were also 56 new entries into the list—see the appendix for further details. Of the 56 departures from the top 500, 32.1 per cent were omitted because they lodged their 2013–14 financial statements late.

Nine of the top 10 corporations for 2012–13 remained in the top 10 for 2013–14. Most of these corporations held steady on their rankings with three unchanged and six shifting only one ranking position up or down. The corporation that dropped out of the top 10 experienced a major decline in royalty payments related to mining activities (its total income dropped from $34.7 million to $13 million). This corporation slid from ranking 7 to ranking 27.

Income, assets and equity

In this section ‘total assets’ refers to current and non-current assets combined, as reported by corporations. Also, ‘total equity’ is calculated as follows: total equity = total assets – total liabilities.

The total income, assets and equity of the top 500 corporations have consistently increased since 2004–05, except for a slight drop in income in 2009–10 (figure 6). The rate of average yearly growth over the nine years in total assets (12.7 per cent) is slightly greater than that of the total income (9.5 per cent) and total equity (12.5 per cent).

Figure 6: Combined total income, total assets and total equity, 2004–05 to 2013–14

Table 3 shows the total income, total assets and total equity of the top 500 corporations in each state and territory for 2013–14. The bulk of the income, assets and equity are shared by two jurisdictions: Northern Territory and Western Australia (figure 7).

Table 3: Total income, total assets and total equity for the top 500 corporations by state/territory, 2013–14

State/territory

Total income

Total assets

Total equity

NT

$754,038,645

$793,935,229

$628,812,533

WA

$504,696,244

$715,926,621

$557,425,591

QLD

$203,721,262

$255,747,250

$195,283,813

NSW

$171,308,832

$176,688,367

$131,194,933

SA

$55,768,990

$77,878,507

$69,057,528

VIC

$43,310,722

$66,153,334

$52,181,624

TAS

$5,010,580

$17,424,009

$16,310,579

ACT

$2,126,259

$170,839

$85,007

Total

$1,739,981,534

$2,103,924,156

$1,650,351,608

Figure 7: Total income, total assets and total equity for the top 500 corporations by state/territory, 2013–14

Figure 8 shows changes in the average income of corporations in each state and territory for the past 10 financial years. While all jurisdictions experienced an overall increase in income during the decade, other patterns also emerged. For example:

The top 500 corporations in five jurisdictions (Northern Territory, Western Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory) have experienced an increase in average income over the past three years (2011–12 to 2013–14).

South Australia was the only state to experience a drop for the last three consecutive years.

In South Australia and Queensland the average income fell, compared to 2012–13. The average income for South Australia dropped from $2,879,824 to $2,534,954 (a decrease of 12 per cent) and for Queensland it dropped from $2,118,694 to $1,977,876 (a decrease of 6.6 per cent).

Tasmania experienced the greatest percentage increase in 2013–14, rising from an average of $927,412 to $1,252,645 (an increase of 35.0 per cent). This followed a two-year decline in average income for corporations in this state.

The Northern Territory consistently maintained the highest average income earned by the top 500 corporations over the past 10 financial years. During the same period the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania earned the lowest average income.

Not one jurisdiction posted an increase in average income every single year over the period.

Queensland dropped from first to third position in annual average growth rate (figure 9). For the ten financial years (from 2004–05 to 2013–14) the annual average growth rate was 10 per cent. This was down from 12.3 per cent recorded for the nine financial years (from 2004–05 to 2012–13).

Victoria had the highest annual average growth rate in the last 10 financial years, 11.2 per cent (figure 9).

For the five years from 2004–05 to 2009–10 Western Australia was tracking at an annual average growth rate of 6.8 per cent. From 2009–10 to 2013–14 the state experienced a boom with a growth rate of 14.9 per cent. Over the 10 financial years the rate balanced out to 10.4 per cent (figure 9).

Figure 8: Movements in average income of the top 500 corporations in each state and territory, 2004–05 to 2013–14

Figure 9: Annual average growth rate from 2004–05 to 2013–14 for the top 500 corporations by state/territory

Average income by region

On 2 March 2015 the Australian Government’s Indigenous affairs network moved from a state-based management structure to a new model that created 12 regional areas. Accordingly the top 500 corporations have been aligned with the new network.

Table 4 shows the average income earned by the top 500 corporations in each of the new 12 regions. The Arnhem Land and Groote Eylandt region had the highest average income in 2013–14. But it also saw a drop of 12 per cent in average income from 2012–13.

Table 4: Average income of the top 500 corporations by region, 2013–14

Region

No. of corporations

Average 2013–14 income per corporation

Percentage increase/decrease in average income from 2012–13 to 2013–14

Arnhem Land and Groote Eylandt

24

$6,946,758

-12.0%

Greater Western Australia

57

$4,865,863

11.3%

Top End and Tiwi Islands

51

$4,446,829

0.0%

Central Australia

79

$4,427,698

12.1%

Kimberley

59

$3,808,116

-4.0%

Western New South Wales

19

$2,786,509

7.6%

Eastern New South Wales

56

$2,302,583

10.2%

Victoria and Tasmania

21

$2,301,014

20.1%

South Queensland

37

$2,005,223

-12.0%

Far North Queensland

47

$1,988,614

-6.7%

South Australia

31

$1,959,780

-13.8%

Gulf and North Queensland

19

$1,898,060

4.0%

Figure 10 highlights the percentage change of average income from 2012–13 to 2013–14 by region.

Figure 10: Change in average income of the top 500 corporations by region, 2012–13 to 2013–14

The Pilbara is the source of most of Australia’s iron ore[2] and corporations located in this area have significantly benefited from the mining boom. In 2007–08 the average income of Pilbara-based corporations was virtually identical to the average national income of the top 500 corporations. However, from 2008–09 onwards, Pilbara-based corporations have consistently increased their income relative to the national average. Although the increase over the past financial year was not as sharp as in the previous year it was still substantial.

In 2013–14 the average income of Pilbara-based corporations increased by $1.86 million from 2012–13, whereas the average income of the top 500 corporations increased by only $0.06 million (figure 11).

The average income in 2013–14 of Pilbara-based top 500 corporations was more than double the average income of all the top 500 corporations ($8.99 million compared to $3.48 million).

Combined total income for the Pilbara rose from $149.8 million in 2012–13 to $170.7 million in 2013–14 (an increase of 14 per cent).

The recent reduction in the market price of iron ore is predicted to have a sizable impact on the income of Aboriginal corporations in the Pilbara. That impact is not expected to be fully appreciated until the 2014–15 financial year, which will be reported in next year’s top 500 report.

Figure 11 shows the average income of the top 500 compared to corporations in the Pilbara. Notable in this figure is that while both the Pilbara and all the top 500 corporations experienced growth, the Pilbara has not unexpectedly grown at a higher rate. Figure 12 illustrates the trends in growth more clearly. The change in growth for corporations in the Pilbara over each of the past five years has averaged an increase of 3.2 per cent whereas the top 500 corporations combined saw their rate of growth decrease by of 0.7 per cent over the same period.

Figure 11: Average income of the top 500 corporations based in the Pilbara compared with average income of all the top 500 corporations, 2007–08 to 2013–14

Figure 12: Percentage change in average income of the top 500 corporations based in the Pilbara compared with all the top 500 corporations, 2008–09 to 2013–14

Profitability

Some caution should be exercised when referencing profitability. This report focuses on income as the vast majority of the top 500 corporations are not-for-profit corporations. Profit or surplus is not an accurate measure of the performance of a not-for-profit as the objective of such corporations is not to generate profit or wealth but to use its resources to further its not-for-profit purposes. The more income that a not-for-profit generates, the more resources it can devote to its not-for-profit purposes.

In this part of the report the terms profit and loss include surplus and deficit respectively for not-for-profit corporations.

Inclusion in the top 500 is based on income. Not all corporations in the top 500 make a profit. In the past year the percentage of corporations reporting a profit has decreased with approximately 56 per cent making a profit in 2013–14, down from 67 per cent in 2012–13 (figure 13).

For the past three years there has been an increase in the number of corporations recording a loss (figure 13) however the average value of the loss has remained fairly steady (figure 14). For corporations that have recorded a profit over the same period, their profitability has fallen significantly (from an average of $674,413 in 2010–11 to $404,528 in 2013–14).

While the overall income of the top 500 corporations has steadily increased since 2007–08 (figure 4) overall profitability has declined, which suggests difficult trading circumstances over the past few years (figure 15).

Figure 13: Number of profit-making and loss-making corporations in the top 500, 2007–08 to 2013–14

Figure 14: Average profit for profit-making corporations and average loss for loss-making corporations in the top 500, 2007–08 to 2013–14

Figure 15: Total combined profit and loss for the top 500 corporations, 2007–08 to 2013–14

Sectoral information

As part of annual reporting under the CATSI Act, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations provide information on the sectors in which they operate. During 2013–14, 284 (56.8 per cent) of the top 500 corporations reported that they were active in one sector only (figure 16). This is 22 fewer corporations than in the previous financial year. As shown in figure 17, after a five-year upward trend, the number of top 500 corporations operating in one sector only has decreased.

Of the 216 corporations that operated in more than one sector, 182 corporations operated in two to six sectors—an increase of 11 corporations from the previous financial year. One corporation identified that it operated in 16 different sectors.

Figure 16: Number of sectors in which the top 500 corporations operated, 2013–14

Figure 17: Number of the top 500 corporations operating in one sector only, 2008–09 to 2013–14

Figure 18 shows the number of corporations operating in each sector. The health and community services sector remained the largest with 207 corporations, down from 212 in 2012–13. This represents a decrease of 2.4 per cent. There were only slight changes in the number of corporations operating in all other sectors except one. This was the ‘agriculture, forestry and fishing’ sector which recorded nil corporations for this year compared to 25 in 2012–13 (a drop of 100 per cent).

Figure 18: Number of the top 500 corporations per sector, 2013–14

The three sectors that showed the highest percentage growth within the top 500 corporations since the previous financial year were:

wholesale trade—25 per cent increase

manufacturing—25 per cent increase

mining—16.7 per cent increase.

The biggest decreases during the same period were observed in the following sectors:

Employees

General reports submitted to the Registrar since 2007–08 contain information on the number of employees of each corporation.

During 2013–14 the top 500 corporations employed 11,721 people, a decrease of 479 employees (3.9 per cent) from the previous financial year (figure 19).

Most people employed by the top 500 corporations are in the Northern Territory and Western Australia, which constitutes 63.8 per cent of people employed by the top 500 corporations (figure 20).

For the second year in a row, the Northern Territory increased its percentage share of employees, from 38.6 per cent to 40.3 per cent. By contrast, the second ranked jurisdiction, Western Australia, experienced a reduction in its share from 25.9 per cent down to 23.5 per cent.

The two jurisdictions that generated the largest share of total income (Northern Territory and Western Australia) employed comparatively fewer people than the other jurisdictions as shown in figure 21.

Figure 19: Total number of employees of the top 500 corporations, 2007–08 to 2013–14

Figure 20: Total number of employees at the top 500 corporations by state/territory, 2013–14

Figure 21: Percentage share of total income compared to total employees for the top 500 corporations by state/territory, 2013–14

Since 2007–08 in all jurisdictions, except New South Wales, there has been an increase in the total number of employees in the top 500 corporations (figure 22).

South Australia experienced the largest percentage growth over the seven years with a 682.2 per cent increase, starting with 45 employees in 2007–08 and growing to 352 employees in 2013–14 (figure 22).

The Northern Territory saw the largest increase in the total number of employees from 2007–08 to 2013–14. In 2007–08 it had 1544 employees. Over the past seven years this number has grown by a further 3179 employees (an increase of 205.9 per cent). In 2013–14 the Northern Territory had the highest total number of employees with 4723 people employed.

To some extent the increase can be attributed to a 32.8 per cent growth in the number of top 500 corporations based in the Northern Territory—from 122 in 2007–08 to 162 in 2013–14 (figures 2 and 23).

Western Australia witnessed the most fluctuations in employee numbers over the seven years (figure 22). However the general trend has been growth, with an overall increase of 1034 employees since 2007–08 (figure 24).

Since 2007–08 three jurisdictions increased their representation in the top 500 (figure 23).

Despite a small rise in the past year (an increase of 70 employees), New South Wales was the only jurisdiction that experienced an overall drop in the number of employees over the past seven financial years to 2013–14—a decrease of 721 employees overall or 32.2 per cent (figure 24).

Figure 22: Total number of employees of the top 500 corporations by state/territory, 2007–08 to 2013–14

Figure 23: Change in the number of the top 500 corporations by state/territory, 2007–08 to 2013–14

Figure 24: Change in the number of employees of the top 500 corporations by state/territory, 2007–08 to 2013–14

Gender of directors

Each year, corporations registered under the CATSI Act are required to provide the details of directors in their general reports, including their age, name and title—for instance Mr, Mrs, Ms or other title. This report has relied on directors’ titles and first names, as reported in general reports, to identify gender.

In 2013–14 a total of 3950 people filled directors roles in the top 500 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations. This represents an average of 7.9 directors per corporation. The average number of directors per corporation has remained consistently within the 7.6 to 8 range since 2008–09 (table 5).

Two corporations in the top 500 were under special administration at the time of reporting. In most cases when a special administrator is appointed, all director positions are vacated and the special administrator performs the role of the board. As a result these corporations reported zero directors for 2013–14.

The gender of 71 directors (1.8 per cent) could not be ascertained as some corporations did not indicate gender-specific titles (Mr, Mrs, Ms) for their directors and the first names were non-gender specific (figure 25).

Excluding directors whose gender was not specified, the breakdown of male and female directorships was 46.5 per cent male to 53.5 per cent female. This is virtually unchanged from the previous financial year when there were 45.6 per cent male directors to 54.4 per cent female directors.

There has always been a strong female representation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporation boards. Since the Registrar began to document gender representation through the top 500 reports, women have always held the majority on boards.

The female representation on boards of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations (53.5 per cent) is identical to that of non-executive directors[3] in the not-for-profit community sector (53.5 per cent). However, it is considerably higher than for companies listed on the ASX (figure 26).

Table 5: Average number of directors per board, in the top 500 corporations, 2008–09 to 2013–14

[3] The category of ‘non-executive directors’ was used here for comparison as this category refers to directors that are not employed as fulltime executives involved in the day-to-day management of the organisation; see definition of non-executive director: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/non-executive-director.html#ixzz2TzYd7fS6. This fits with the profile of directors of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations as the vast majority do not act in executive roles. Only 11.9 per cent of corporations have provisions in their rule books to allow directors to be remunerated for services provided as directors. See the Registrar’s report: Remuneration—a report benchmarking the salaries of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations, March 2013, p. 9 at www.oric.gov.au. In addition, although 34.5 per cent of directors received remuneration in 2011–12, the view is that very few of those are paid in the capacity as an executive as only a small proportion received over $10,000 in remuneration during 2011–12, see the remuneration report, figure 3, p.11).

[4] Sources: Australian Institute of Company Directors 2015, Appointments to S&P/ASX 200 Boards, statistics, Australian Institute of Company Directors, viewed 1 December 2015, http://www.companydirectors.com.au/director-resource-centre/governance-and-director-issues/board-div... Australian Government Office for Women, Gender balance on Australian Government boards report 2014–2015, Commonwealth of Australia, p. 2; YWCA Australia, the Australian Council of Social Service and Women on Boards, Reflecting gender diversity: an analysis of gender diversity in the leadership of the community sector: inaugural survey results, September 2012, figure 3, p. 13.

Sources of income

This section examines the various sources of income for the largest corporations registered under the CATSI Act. Information gathered from audited financial statements submitted between 2007–08 and 2013–14 by the top 20 corporations is provided in table 6 and figure 27.

Table 6: Sources of income of the top 20 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations, 2007–08 to 2013–14

Note: Percentages are of income sources against the combined income for the top 20 corporations for each financial year.

Government funding to the top 20 has increased slightly since 2012–13, increasing by 2.6 per cent (from 36.9 per cent to 39.5 per cent)—see table 6. The share of self-generated income has also increased from 40.1 per cent to 44.8 per cent.

The proportion of government funding relative to other sources of income combined has decreased by 7.4 per cent over the past seven financial years.

Overall the top 20 corporations made progress towards generating more of their own income but were susceptible to fluctuations in mining royalties and distribution payments. There was a significant drop in this income source during 2013–14, after a strong period for the previous three years (figure 27—other income sources).

Several other trends were apparent when reviewing the sources of corporation income (see figure 27):

there was a general upward trend over the past seven financial years in income generated from all sources except for philanthropic gifts

both government funding and self-generated income increased every single year since 2007–08

income received from other sources showed a more erratic pattern over time as this income source consists largely of mining royalties and compensation payments made under Indigenous land use agreements which may be large one-off payments. There was a drop of 30.5 per cent in the last financial year in this source of income

over the seven-year period, the income generated from philanthropic gifts remained under 0.1 per cent of total funding, with nil income reported by the top 20 corporations in this category for 2013–14

over the past seven years the amount of self-generated income received by the top 20 corporations steadily took over from government-derived income as the leading source

self-generated income grew by 10.9 per cent in 2012–13 and 13.8 per cent in 2013–14. Comparatively, government funding grew by 2.1 per cent in 2012–13 and 8.6 per cent in 2013–14.

[5] Government funding includes grants as well as other sources of government funding such as fuel tax credits.

[6] Other sources of income, but are not limited to, mining royalties, native title compensation packages and distributions from trusts.

Registered native title bodies corporate

When a determination recognising native title is made by the Federal Court, the Native Title Act 1993 requires traditional owners to establish a corporation to represent them and their interests. These organisations are known as registered native title bodies corporate (RNTBCs). They are most commonly known as prescribed bodies corporate (PBCs). An RNTBC has prescribed functions under the Native Title Act 1993 to:

hold, protect and manage determined native title in accordance with the objectives of the native title holding group

ensure certainty for governments and other parties interested in accessing or regulating native title land and waters by providing a legal entity to manage and conduct the affairs of the native title holders.[7]

All RNTBCs must be incorporated under the CATSI Act.

In recent years there has been a rapid increase in the number of native title determinations and RNTBCs incorporated under the CATSI Act. As at 30 June 2008 there were 54 RNTBCs registered under the CATSI Act. By 30 June 2013 the number increased to 108 RNTBCs; by 30 June 2014 there were 135; and by 30 June 2015 there were 144.

This section of the report compares the 135 RNTBCs registered as at 30 June 2014 (including those outside the top 500) with the top 500 corporations for the 2013–14 reporting period.

RNTBCs in the top 500 corporations

Twenty-one RNTBCs appeared in the top 500 for 2013–14 (see figure 28).

Income of RNTBCs

In 2013–14 the combined income of all RNTBCs was $57.7 million, which is $9 million more than 2012–13 ($48.7 million).

Just over half, 51.1 per cent (69 of 135 corporations) of RNTBCs reported an income greater than zero for 2013–14. This is an increase from 2012–13 when only 45.4 per cent (49 of 108 corporations) reported an income.

The remaining 48.9 per cent of RNTBCs reported nil income or were exempted from reporting in 2013–14. It is worth noting that the Registrar has granted many exemptions from reporting requirements in an effort to reduce the reporting burden for small corporations whose sole purpose is land holding with no other activity or income. In 2012–13 a higher proportion, 54.6 per cent (59 corporations), reported nil income or were exempted.

The average income for RNTBCs that did report an income in 2013–14 was $835,564 (table 7). This is less than the average in 2012–13, which was $994,292.

Table 7: Comparison of total and average income for the top 500 corporations vs all RNTBCs by state/territory, 2013–14

State/territory

No. of top 500 corporations

Total combined income

Average income

No. of RNTBCs with income greater than zero

Total combined income

Average income

ACT

2

$2,126,259

$1,063,130

0

—

—

NSW

72

$171,308,832

$2,379,289

1

$168,413

$168,413

NT

162

$754,038,645

$4,654,560

4

$495,439

$123,860

QLD

103

$203,721,262

$1,977,876

36

$9,029,483

$250,819

SA

22

$55,768,990

$2,534,954

9

$11,415,809

$1,268,423

TAS

4

$5,010,580

$1,252,645

0

—

—

VIC

17

$43,310,722

$2,547,690

4

$5,924,575

$1,481,144

WA

118

$504,696,244

$4,277,087

15

$30,620,182

$2,041,345

Total

500

$1,739,981,534

$3,479,963

69

$57,653,901

$835,564

Note: Average income has been derived excluding RNTBCs with nil income for 2013–14. 66 RNTBCs had nil income.

Table 8: Income and assets between RNTBCs ranked highest and lowest

Ranking of RNTBC in the top 500

Income

Assets

Highest (ranked 44)

$8,453,248

$13,943,193

Lowest (not ranked)

$150

$0

The highest ranking RNTBC has dropped since last year. In 2012–13 the highest ranked RNTBC appeared at position 33, with income of $11,957,616 and assets of $85,436,533 (table 8).

Figure 29: Total combined income for the top 500 corporations and all RNTBCs by state/territory, 2013–14

There did not appear to be any direct relationship between the number of RNTBCs, their combined income by state/territory or the combined income of top 500 corporations by state/territory (figure 29). This was the same for assets (table 9 and figure 30).

Table 9: Total assets for the top 500 corporations and all RNTBCs by state/territory, 2013–14

State/territory

No. of top 500 corporations with assets greater than zero

Total combined assets of top 500

Average assets of top 500

No. of RNTBCs with assets greater than zero

Total combined assets of RNTBCs

Average assets of RNTBCs

ACT

2

$170,839

$85,420

0

—

—

NSW

72

$176,688,367

$2,454,005

1

$3,798,117

$3,798,117

NT

161

$793,935,229

$4,931,275

4

$1,846,886

$461,722

QLD

103

$255,747,250

$2,482,983

25

$14,908,552

$596,342

SA

22

$77,878,507

$3,539,932

10

$26,545,989

$2,654,599

TAS

4

$17,424,009

$4,356,002

0

—

—

VIC

17

$66,153,334

$3,891,373

4

$13,428,957

$3,357,239

WA

118

$715,926,621

$6,067,175

15

$120,196,365

$8,013,091

Total

499

$2,103,924,156

$4,216,281

59

$180,724,866

$3,063,133

Note: Average assets has been derived excluding RNTBCs with nil assets for 2013–14. 76 RNTBCs had nil assets.

Figure 30: Total combined assets for the top 500 and RNTBCs by state/territory, 2013–14

Employees of RNTBCs

In 2013–14, 34 RNTBCs employed a total of 235 people. This is 16 more RNTBCs with employees and 50 more people employed at an RNTBC than in 2012–13. There were 101 RNTBCs with no employees. There were 37 corporations in the top 500 that reported no employees, a further three did not report a figure at all. A single corporation in Victoria accounted for 82 employees (table 10, figures 31 and 32).

Table 10: Total employees for the top 500 corporations and all RNTBCs by state/territory, 2013–14

No. of top 500 corporations with employees

No. of people employed by top 500

No. of RNTBCs with employees

No. of people employed by RNTBCs

ACT

2

19

0

0

NSW

68

1515

1

2

NT

143

4723

1

2

Qld

96

1892

16

46

SA

18

352

2

8

Tas

3

38

0

0

Vic

17

423

2

15

WA

113

2759

12

162

TOTAL

460

11721

34

235

Figure 31: Percentage share of employees of the top 500 corporations by state/territory, 2013–14

Gender of directors in RNTBCs

The average number of directors at RNTBCs was 9, which is slightly higher than all corporations in the top 500 (7.9 directors per corporation).

Excluding directors whose gender was not specified—the gender of 18 directors (1.5 per cent) could not be ascertained due to the corporation not reporting a title and the gender ambiguity of the first name—the breakdown of male and female directorships of RNTBCs was 55.8 per cent male and 44.2 per cent female (figure 33).

This breakdown is the reverse of the female representation in the top 500 corporations, with fewer females holding director positions in RNTBCs than in the top 500 corporations (see figure 25).

Case study: Commercially engaged

Together we are stronger

Alice Springs: When it comes to construction, maintenance and general entrepreneurship, Ingkerreke Outstations Resource Services Aboriginal Corporation is out there in front.

In 2004 Ingkerreke Outstations took the decisive, and at that time, radical, step of setting up Ingkerreke Commercial with one main purpose—to produce income to provide better services to the people living in outstations and homelands. Today the corporation looks after over 50 outstations and homelands across Central Australia, providing housing, and municipal and essential services.

Ingkerreke Commercial has also grown into a well-established construction, metal fabrication and maintenance enterprise which offers training and employment opportunities to local people, particularly local Aboriginal men and women. For those who have strong cultural and family ties to the region, and who want to stay in Central Australia, it’s the workplace of choice.

‘Just as we are committed to operating as a modern, competitive business we are committed to employing Aboriginal people,’ says Louise Wellington who heads up the business development section. ‘At our peak we employed over 100 staff—now it’s 52 of whom half are Aboriginal—mainly carpenters, boilermakers, plumbers and electricians. We also have 10 young people in apprenticeships or engaged in further study.’

Although Ingkerreke Commercial may be a smaller organisation today than it once was there’s a distinct feeling it’s back on track for further growth—due in part to the resurgence in the commercial sector and the corporation’s ability to capitalise on its knowledge of the local environment.

‘All businesses go through ups and downs,’ explains the CEO of Ingkerreke Outstations, Scott McConnell. ‘We’ve recently weathered a significant downturn in the construction industry coupled with a lack of government funding—both fairly serious challenges but we’ve got through them.’

The corporation has always enjoyed an enviable reputation for providing a reliable, quality service at competitive prices and is also fortunate to have a strong and dedicated board of directors not afraid to take the hard, and sometimes unpopular, decisions.

But with the upswing in the construction business and a generally more buoyant commercial climate, the outlook for Ingkerreke Commercial is optimistic. It has an expert construction and maintenance team of builders, carpenters, plumbers, electricians and so on, ready and able to fulfil contracts over a very wide region. A contract won from Defence Housing Australia (DHA), for example, will utilise a variety of skilled tradespeople out of Alice Springs yet, equally, there are contracts that can be worked out of its other bases in Darwin, Santa Teresa, Hermannsburg and Papunya.

‘Housing refurbishments and repairs and maintenance are a large part of what we do—our bread and butter,’ says Louise Wellington, ‘but we also make a variety of steel products especially suited to outback conditions—from structural steel and roof trusses to stainless steel kitchens, fixtures and fittings.’

One of the organisation’s high demand products is its custom-made ute trays made from local steel. ‘They’re very popular,’ says Louise. ‘People know that they have been thoroughly tested to endure harsh desert terrains and that they can be relied on!’

The facts

Ingkerreke Outstations Resource Services Aboriginal Corporation started when land was being handed back to traditional owners as outstations in the 1980s. Twelve outstations grouped together and formed the corporation in 1985.

In 2004 Ingkerreke Outstations Resource Services Aboriginal Corporation used its skills and experience in housing management and maintenance to form a commercial entity—Ingkerreke Commercial.

It developed a talent and capacity to respond quickly to a range of commercial tendering opportunities available at that time, including the Northern Territory Emergency Response.

During 2007 Ingkerreke Commercial secured contracts worth $1.9 million in civil works and waste management, as well as $2.47 million in emergency repairs to housing.

marketing its point of difference—providing a workforce with a high level of skilled Aboriginal employees.

Business challenges always exist—namely, the triple bottom line, monitoring the market, and beating the competition—but one challenge in which Ingkerreke Commercial takes satisfaction in overcoming is the entrenched assumption (in some quarters) that Aboriginal corporations can’t deliver contracts on time or within budget. Another is debunking the notion that its activities are subsidised by government grants.

Like any other enterprise, Ingkerreke Commercial is vulnerable to the usual market forces and competition pressures, such as a downturn in the construction industry.

Rankings in the top 500

Ingkerreke Outstations Resource Services Aboriginal Corporation (ICN 347) stayed in the top 20 corporations for 2013–14 with an income of $15.6 million (an increase from $14.8 million in 2012–13). Its rankings since 2007-08 are set out below:

Publishing information

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